Alkoxylate surfactants find applications in various industries as adjuvants, emulsifiers, dye leveling/transferring agents, and cleaning agents. However, alkoxylated surfactants typically form a gel when contacted with water. A product that is totally soluble in water could be rendered largely useless when gelling occurs. Additionally, the formation of gel makes cleaning of pipes, reaction vessels, transportation vessels and the like difficult. The formation of a gel also slows down the dissolution rate of products in water at the time of application.
To overcome the problem of gelling, diluents are often added to these products. These diluents are typically low molecular weight glycols or low molecular weight alcohols. However, such diluents are not surfactants and they don't contribute to intended properties of use. Further, adding diluents to the alkoxylated surfactants increases the cost of the formulation with no meaningful enhancement of performance.